At last, a fish to repay many hours of numb toes and misplaced hope! A case of one bite, one fish- this one came from Exeter Canal, a tough nut at times, and took a whole herring.
AT times, I start to think that specimen hunting is a form of self inflicted torture- selective fishing is slow fishing more often than not and for me, not the be all and end all. When a plan finally comes off though, it's very satisfying. This 18 pound sample was no dead hearted winter fighter either- some hairy moments as she was lightly hooked (I never delay striking even with fairly big baits) and also intent on reaching submerged branches. My heart is still slowing down from the buzz.
Perhaps the biggest joke is that todays swims were very much plan B- I had fished them unsucessfully on a recent morning off, but really my hand was forced by finding my prime, more remote target area disturbed and heavily coloured up.
So, a hard won, very satisfying pike. What a massive head too! These canal pike can be really solid, impressive creatures, if a touch less elegant than river samples. Best of all, she was only very lightly hooked- the one treble she was attached by virtually fell out once she was landed, and after a quick snap or two she went straight back, almost untouched! If only every cold weekend started like this...
No comments:
Post a Comment